thapsigargin and Parkinson-Disease

It is generally believed that the pathogenesis of PINK1/parkin-related Parkinson's disease (PD) is due to a disturbance in mitochondrial quality control. However, recent studies have found that PINK1 and Parkin play a significant role in mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and are involved in the regulation of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact sites (MERCSs).. The aim of our study was to perform an in-depth analysis of the role of MERCSs and impaired calcium homeostasis in PINK1/Parkin-linked PD.. In our study, we used induced pluripotent stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons from patients with PD with loss-of-function mutations in PINK1 or PRKN. We employed a split-GFP-based contact site sensor in combination with the calcium-sensitive dye Rhod-2 AM and applied Airyscan live-cell super-resolution microscopy to determine how MERCSs are involved in the regulation of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis.. Our results showed that thapsigargin-induced calcium stress leads to an increase of the abundance of narrow MERCSs in wild-type neurons. Intriguingly, calcium levels at the MERCSs remained stable, whereas the increased net calcium influx resulted in elevated mitochondrial calcium levels. However, PINK1-PD or PRKN-PD neurons showed an increased abundance of MERCSs at baseline, accompanied by an inability to further increase MERCSs upon thapsigargin-induced calcium stress. Consequently, calcium distribution at MERCSs and within mitochondria was disrupted.. Our results demonstrated how the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria work together to cope with calcium stress in wild-type neurons. In addition, our results suggests that PRKN deficiency affects the dynamics and composition of MERCSs differently from PINK1 deficiency, resulting in differentially affected calcium homeostasis. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Topics: Calcium; Dopaminergic Neurons; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Homeostasis; Humans; Mitochondria; Parkinson Disease; Protein Kinases; Thapsigargin; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases

Zonisamide has been reported to have protective effects on epilepsy and Parkinson׳s disease and to work via various mechanisms of action, such as inhibition of monoamine oxidase-B and enhancement of tyrosine hydroxylase. Recently, it has been suggested that zonisamide itself shows neuroprotective actions. Therefore, in the present study we investigated the neuroprotective effects of zonisamide against endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. We used human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells and investigated the protective effects of zonisamide against tunicamycin- and thapsigargin-induced neuronal cell death. In addition, we investigated the effect of zonisamide against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺)-induced cell death and the mechanism of protection against ER stress. In vivo, we investigated the effect of zonisamide (20 mg/kg, p.o.) in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse model of Parkinson׳s disease. Zonisamide not only suppressed MPP⁺-induced cell death, but also inhibited ER stress-induced cell death and suppressed the expression of ER stress-related factors such as C/EBO homologous protein (CHOP) in vivo. Furthermore, zonisamide inhibited the activation of caspase-3 in vitro. These results suggest that zonisamide affected ER stress via caspase-3. We think that ER stress, particularly the mechanism via caspase-3, is involved in part of the neuroprotective effect of zonisamide against the experimental models of Parkinson׳s disease.

Topics: Animals; Anticonvulsants; Antiparkinson Agents; Cell Death; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Disease Models, Animal; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Half-Life; Humans; Isoxazoles; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; MPTP Poisoning; Neurons; Neuroprotective Agents; Parkinson Disease; Substantia Nigra; Thapsigargin; Tunicamycin; Zonisamide